MESA VERDE 433 



ridge is so narrow that the rider looks down almost vertically on 

 one side into the Montezuma valley and on the other into the 

 head of the small canyons that lead to Mancos river. A misstep 

 would throw a pack animal far down either slope. 



The peculiar form of the mesa is due largely to the existence 

 of a heavy bed of sandstone which forms the top-capping and 

 protects the softer underlying rock. This weathers and cracks 

 in almost vertical cliffs all around the outer edges. In the in- 

 terior of the mesa, however, at the head of the numerous small 

 canyons, erosion has proceeded in a peculiar manner, and one 

 which was found by the aborigines to be highly favorable to 

 their purposes. Along the edges" near the top of the canyon cer- 

 tain portions of the sandstone have weathered, leaving great 

 shelves, protected above by the overhanging masses. These 

 shelves can be reached often with great difficulty, as the cliffs 

 below them may be 100 feet or more vertically, and access from 

 the top is almost impossible. The roof of these openings gradu- 

 ally slopes down to the floor, so that these great horizontal 

 crevices or caves, as they are sometimes called, may extend back 

 50 or 100 feet, and in length may stretch for several hundred 

 feet. 



Around and r \ the mesa are found numerous fragments of 

 pottery or of cbi ,d stone, and here and there mounds of refuse, 

 showing the location of ruined houses or towns. The innumer- 

 able objects testify to the former presence of a large population. 

 Ruins of stone towers on prominent points show that the arts of 

 defense were an important feature of their life. It is, however, 

 under the shelter of the great overhanging rocks that we find the 

 ruins almost in perfection. Here, in the dry climate, protected 

 from the occasional fierce storms, the dust of centuries has ac- 

 cumulated, and even organic matter has hardly undergone any 

 change. The great stone houses and towers rise story upon story, 

 and behind, in the piles of refuse thrown in the part of the cave 

 where the roof approaches the floor, are the worn-out sandals, 

 the broken pottery, and all the rubbish of a town. Here, evi- 

 dently, were kept great flocks of turkeys, and in the rubbish 

 sometimes graves were made, the bodies now being dried to the 

 condition of tough leather, being perfectly preserved mummies. 

 The clothing on the-e, such as the feather robes, has retained its 

 texture and even in places its color. No fragments of metal have 

 been found, but all the implements are of bone, wood, or stone. 



